lesser challenger Seiya Tsutsumi fought back tears as he let out a scream after the biggest win of his career.
A fantastic performance was put in by the first time title challenger in his WBA title bid over Takuma Inoue. Their Fight of the Year contender saw Tsutsumi prevail by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 117-110 atop an ESPN+/Amazon Prime-Japan show Sunday from Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
“This is the moment I really wanted in my life,” Tsutsumi told ringside interpreter Mizuka Koike. “I still can’t believe it’s happening.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) who stormed back after a strong start by Inoue (20-2, 5 KOs).
The younger brother of four-division champion and pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) has slowly carved out a name for himself at bantamweight. His defensive prowess was a tough target for Tsutsumi to nail down in the early rounds.
Tsutsumi missed wildly with a right hand, which Inoue slipped effortlessly and then playfully mocked his challenger. It was part of a strong start for Inoue, who was in control through four rounds.
However, Tsutsumi was never completely out of the fight. All that was needed was the confidence to move forward.
“I’ve always had an inferiority complex among all these great fighters at my weight from Japan,” Tsutsumi confessed. “I listened to every word that was said in my corner. That was the difference. I never gave up.”
A drastic shift in momentum came in the fifth. Inoue made the decision to stand and trade early in the round. Tsutsumi made him pay for that decision as he landed right hands and body shots from close range in his best round of the fight.
It carried over to the sixth. Inoue connected with an uppercut, but was overshadowed by Tsutsumi’s increased punch output.
The message was received by Inoue, who came out more assertive to start the second half.
Inoue was successful with his straight right and uppercut, but it wasn’t enough to fend off a relentless Tsutsumi, who applied constant pressure. Tsutsumi snapped back the head of Inoue with a right uppercut in the closing seconds of the round.
Tsutsumi immediately drove Inoue into the ropes to start the eighth. Inoue momentarily escaped and brought the action to center ring before Tsutsumi quickly took the lead. The relentless challenger walked through it, scoring regularly with his right hand and left hook.
Inoue regained control in a strong ninth round before the fight took a disastrous turn. A left hook staggered Inoue as he fell into the ropes. Referee Nobuto Ikehara deemed the sequence a knockdown and claimed that the ropes prevented Inoue’s fall. The call infuriated the defending titleholders, who protested vehemently before action resumed.
It served as a wake-up call that the fight was slipping away. Inoue came back in the eleventh, realizing that Tsutsumi was not slowing down and that he needed something dramatic to retain his title.
Tsutsumi never foresaw that moment. His high motor and relentless work rate was the difference between claiming his first title and leaving the ring empty handed.
Hearing the words “… and the new” reduced Tsutsumi to near tears. He celebrated as he jumped for joy before falling to his knees. It brought him back to his first championship experience as a youth.
“It feels surreal to me. When I was in middle school, I had the chance to touch the championship belt held by the great Takashi Uchiyama,” recalls Tsutsumi.
“Since then I made the promise to myself never to touch another world title until I won my own.”
He now has one of his own, which comes courtesy of his second Fight of the Year contender in his past three starts.
However, the previous instant classic provided a much more grim ending.
Tsutsumi was forced to take the damage done to Kazuki Anaguchi. Tsutsumi won their brutal ten-round slugfest last December 26 by unanimous decision. Anaguchi never recovered from brain injuries sustained in the fight and died in February.
Tsutsumi bravely moved forward with his career. He scored a fourth-round knockout of Weerawat Noolae on July 7 at Kokugikan before a career-best win on Sunday.
Inoue snapped a seven-fight winning streak with the loss.
He claimed the WBA 118-pound title last April. He was the first benefactor after the divisional departure of his older brother, who vacated all four bantamweight titles.
The younger Inoue slowly carved his own name. The Ring’s no. 3-rated bantamweight impressed in a ninth-round knockout of former 115-pound titlist Jerwin Ancajas on Feb. 24 at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. He then returned just ten weeks later to join Naoya on the May 6 show at Tokyo Dome. His appearance resulted in a twelve round victory over compatriot Sho Ishida.
His run came after a November 2019 loss to then-undefeated WBC bantamweight titlist Nordine Oubaali. It’s now back to the drawing board for Inoue, who thanked all his fans as he left the Ariake Arena main room.
Meanwhile, it’s on to the future for Tsutsumi amid a golden era for boxing in Japan, especially at bantamweight.
His next option could come in the form of the winner of Monday’s main event in this very spot. Junto Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs) defends his WBC bantamweight title against Thailand’s Petch CP Freshmart (76-1, 53 KOs).
“We’re going to have a second day of boxing here at Ariake Arena,” Tsutsumi noted. “One of those fights is another bantamweight title fight. We’re going to watch that fight and then see what’s next for us.”
